Joe Silva’s Shoes: What next for UFC Fight Night 48’s winners?

The UFC made its third stop in Macau with UFC Fight Night 48, which took place Saturday at The Venetian Macao’s CotaiArena in Macau. The event, which streamed on UFC Fight Pass, featured a four-fight main card with two significant matchups at the top of the bill.

In the main event, middleweight Michael Bisping (25-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) dominated former Strikeforce champion Cung Le (9-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) for a little more than three rounds before scoring a TKO stoppage early in the fourth frame.

After every event, fans wonder whom the winners will be matched up with next. And with another night of UFC action in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Joe Silva’s (and Sean Shelby’s) shoes, and play UFC matchmaker.

Ning Guangyou

Should fight: UFC newcomerWhy they should fight: With all due respect to Guangyou, the UFC will have to reach deep to find a featherweight who wouldn’t make quick work of the Chinese fighter.

Despite winning the 145-pound “TUF: China” tournament, the reality is Guangyou is not UFC-caliber at this point, and he needs a lot of development before getting there.

That’s not to say Ning doesn’t have potential, but he must be brought along at a cautious pace. If the UFC can sign a featherweight who’s a healthy, but not overwhelming, test for Guangyou, it would only benefit his career.

Zhang Lipeng

Should fight: Winner of Jake Lindsey vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier at UFC Fight Night 54Why they should fight: Lipen is essentially in the same boat as his fellow “TUF: China” winner Guangyou. The welterweight-turned-lightweight is still very underdeveloped and needs to make some major improvement.

His decision victory over Brendan O’Reilly was a strong start to his post-reality-show career, but it was mostly a forgettable performance.

With the UFC seemingly gearing up to make frequent trips to Macau and mainland China, there’s a good chance Lipeng will continue to get a slow build. Facing a lower-tier lightweight such as the winner of Lindsey (9-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) vs. Aubin-Mercier (4-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) would be a manageable task for the 24-year-old.

Tyron Woodley

Should fight: Matt BrownWhy they should fight: Woodley rebounded from an underwhelming effort against Rory MacDonald with a quick stoppage of Kim. In the process, Woodley regained his status as a contender in the welterweight division.

When “The Chosen One” shows up on point, he’s one of the most fearsome fighters at 170 pounds, and he’s likely capable of defeating anyone in the weight class. He needed to defeat Kim to prove it, and now only big fights are ahead.

With the majority of the top fighters in the welterweight division either booked for future matchups or injured, Woodley’s options are limited, but some viable candidates still remain.

The most logical option going forward would be Brown (19-12 MMA, 12-6 UFC), who came up short in a title eliminator against Woodley’s American Top Top teammate Robbie Lawler in July. Despite the loss, Brown proved he can hang with the big guns, and a bout with Woodley – despite the UFC’s preference not to match losing fighters with winning fighters – would give him the opportunity to get back on track.

Michael Bisping

Should fight: Luke RockholdWhy they should fight: Bisping and Rockhold (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) have shared heat dating back to Bisping’s comments about how he should be considered “the unofficial Strikeforce champion” following a sparring session with Rockhold several years ago.

There were previous discussions about Rockhold facing Lyoto Machida in his next bout, and while that may be the more logical fight in terms of rankings, passing up on the chance to book Bisping vs. Rockhold would be a wasted opportunity.

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